BRINGING THE BUZZ: RUTH MEDJBER

Aside from being one of our favourite people to share a Hennessy with, Ruth Medjber is one of the boldest, most generous, fun and brilliant creatives in Ireland. Ireland’s top music photographer, having worked with the likes of Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran, Hozier, Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus, she captures a moment in time like no other, conveying the magic of a performance and an artist's connection to the audience in a single stunning shot. She also has the coveted honour of being  one of the very few official photographers of the legendary Glastonbury Festival. Outside of the ‘day-job’ Ruth’s activism results in impactful projects including ‘Surrounded By Sea’, in aid of Refugee Rescue and she continues to work on her project, Women of Notes, featuring women in Ireland’s music industry. In response to lockdown 2020, she conceived the ground-breaking "Twilight Together" project, taking photos of people in their homes through their windows. It culminated in a stunning book which captured the imagination of people across the world with coverage everywhere from CNN to The Guardian and is widely considered to be one of the most iconic portrait series of our time. Now turning her hand to radio with a new ‘Spotlight’ show on Dublin City FM airing on Wednesdays from 2pm-4pm, we were delighted as always to catch up with Ruth.

Congratulations on your new radio show! You’ve seen a lot of incredible music in your time as a highly esteemed, professional music photographer and avid gig-goer. Can you pick your top 3 favourite shows of all time and your reasons for choosing them?
My top three to shoot would differ greatly from my top 3 as a punter really. My punter ones would be: Manic Street Preachers doing the Holy Bible in the Olympia. Placebo in the Olympia when I was 14 years old and Radiohead in the Big Top tent for the Kid A tour….oh and maybe my first gig, Michael Jackson in the RDS in 1997 when I was 11!

What new Irish music have you been listening to recently?
Each week I sit down for about 3 hours and go through band camp, spotify and my emails and listen to all new Irish music that came out that week. It can be a bit overwhelming but overall it’s so comforting knowing that new Irish music is in very safe hands.  I’ve a lot of time for Seanie Bermingham, Sammy Copley, Sinead White, BRÍDÍN, The Cope, Seba Safe and too many more to mention.

You’ve worked with huge artists all over the world and taken shots of thousands of acts. Ever had any super weird requests?
Most people have the same list of insecurities. There’s the really famous country star who doesn’t like the shape of her thighs, the pop singer who hates her arms,  the folk artist who wants you to fill in the gaps in the front row for fear of it looking empty. We’re all just a bundle of insecurities, and even the biggest acts in the world want me to nip, tuck, hide and replace them in photoshop. Sad but true.

At a gig, would you rather be a punter or be shooting the show?
This is an age-old question for me. After a run of shoots I’m dying to leave the camera behind, but then as soon as I’m in the crowd I feel like I’m missing an appendage. I think I’ll always want to have a camera on me, but maybe without the pressure of getting “the shot”.

What’s been your biggest ‘pinch me’ moment?
Walking into Glastonbury for the first time as a photographer and standing in the photo pit of the pyramid stage. That was my ultimate dream come true. I’d been going to Glasto since I was 16, but I never even allowed myself to imagine being one of the select few photographers.

You are curating a concert, the line-up can be any artist living or dead. Who’s your opener, headliner, encore acts?
I’m actually curating a concert now as part of my radio show and I’ve invited so many amazing Irish acts, but I think if I had unlimited budget and the ability to persuade anyone….Enya. Just Enya, on repeat. She can do whatever the hell she wants up there.

You are a true ‘creative’ with stunning projects like ‘Twilight Together’ beautifully capturing a unique moment in time, where do you get your ideas from?
I have a bullet journal and I scribble down any little nugget that comes into my head. 90% of them are utter nonsense, but the ritual of writing them down helps access the rest of them. The best state for idea generation is pure boredom, so I try to be idle for as long as possible.

We’ve been following your ‘van life’ adventures over the Summer across socials, how’s it been going?
I’m currently writing this from my camper (Gloria EsteVAN) out the West of Ireland. It’s the only place I really get a bit of peace. It has opened my eyes to so much. I used to really concentrate on my job nonstop. I’d work and work and work. I now live a much slower life. I work just enough to pay the bills at home and keep diesel in the tank, and the rest of the time is spent staring at the sea while drinking tea.